SEBEK
Real Name:
Sobek-Ra
Occupation:
God of punishment, patron god of the military,
Legal Status:
Citizen of Celestial Heliopolis
Identity: The general populace of Earth is unaware of the existence of Sebek except as a mythological deity.
Other Aliases:
The Crocodile-God, Sobek, Sochet, Sobk, Sobki, Soknopais, Suchos (Greek name)
Place of Birth:
Marital Status: Single
Known Relatives: Seth (father), Gaea (mother, alias Nun), Edjo, Nekhbet (sisters), Babi (brother), Horos, Osiris (uncles), Isis, Nephthys (aunts), Horus, Anubis, Bast, Bata, Anhur, Sesmu, Neper (cousins), Geb (grandfather), Nut (grandmother),
Group Affiliations: The Gods of Egypt
Base of Operations:
Abydos
First Appearance: Uncanny Tales #14
History: Sebek is a member of an extra-dimensional race of beings known as the Ennead who were worshipped as gods by the Ancient Egyptians, and who are counted as possibly the oldest gods on Earth. Sebek is the son of Seth, god of death, who mated with Gaea in her form of Nun, the ancestral goddess of the Egyptian gods. Seth desired progeny who would be subservient to him and would serve separate roles in the underworld. In Egyptian religion, the shades or sprits of their worshippers were delivered by the god, Anubis, to the underworld where they took on a physical form similar to how they appeared on Earth. On their journey, they were ferried across the waters of the underworld by Mahaf, a ferryman god, and delivered to a place of judgment guarded by Ammit, who watched over the dead. Judged over by the goddess Amaunet, the shades of the dead were then sent to two separate regions of the underworld. Those Amaunet judged worthy were sent to Duat, a realm of everlasting paradise ruled by the god Osiris, god of the dead. Those deemed unworthy were sent to Abydos, the land of the dead, where they were watched over by Nekhbet, the vulture-goddess, and Edjo, the cobra-goddess, before they were ripped apart by Babi, the baboon-god and fed to Sebek, who waited in the waters of the underworld. Seth was given dominion over Abydos set aside for the souls of sinners sent there.
Because of his duties in the underworld, Sebek was originally considered a demon, but he was later invoked by the Egyptian armies as they went off to war. He was worshipped in cities along the Nile as a protector of crocodiles which were often mummified and placed as guardians of the tombs of kings and pharaohs. Sebek was reportedly present at the birth of Horus and allied with him against his own father, Seth, trying to seize power over the Gods of Egypt. Cast back down to the underworld, Sebek retrieved the four sons of Horus from the waters of the underworld.
In modern years, a humanoid being with the head of a crocodile
in liege with the Egyptian gods created a book of human skin and inscribed
powerful dark spells into it in order to lure human beings into evil, thereby
gaining power over their souls. He named it the Black Book of Bast after the Egyptian
cat-goddess in order to mask its true purpose. (Although Bast is often invoked
by Wiccan sorcerers and witches, she has no malevolent intent.) The tome passed
through the hands of several modern devil worshippers and cultists including one
Walter Prelle, who used it to subvert his business partner, Miles Keston.
Whether this is Sebek, having reverted into his demonic purpose, is unrevealed.
Height: 7' 0"
Weight: 410 lbs.
Eyes: Green
Hair: None
Unusual Physical Characteristics: Sebek resembles a
humanoid reptile with the head of a crocodile.
Strength Level: Sebek possesses superhuman strength enabling him to lift
(press) 40 tons under optimal conditions.
Known Superhuman Powers: Sebek possesses the conventional physical attributes
of the Ennead or Egyptian gods. Like all of the Egyptian gods, he is extremely
long-lived, but he is not immortal: he has aged at an extremely slow rate since
reaching adulthood and cannot die by any conventional means. He is immune to all
Earthly diseases and is resistant to conventional injury. If he were somehow
wounded, his godly life force would enable him to recover with superhuman speed. It
would take an injury of such magnitude that it dispersed a major portion of his
bodily molecules to cause him a physical death. Even then, it might be possible for
a god of significant power, such as Ammon-Ra, Osiris and Seth or for a number of
Egyptian gods of equal power working together to revive him. Sebek also possesses
superhuman strength and his Ennead metabolism provides him with far greater than
human endurance in all physical activities. (Ennead flesh and bone is about three
times as dense as similar human tissue, contributing to the superhuman
strength and weight of the Egyptian gods.)
Sebek has greater strength, stamina, endurance and resistance
to injury than any other Egyptian god, with the obvious exception of gods like
Osiris, Seth and Horus. He has a veracious appetite, capable of consuming and
metabolizing sustenance much faster than his fellow gods. He is immune to poison
and his powerful jaws can rend through wood and bone. He can use his jaws to
inflict damage on his foes and his fingers have claws capable of scratching
through stone and concrete.
Comments: This bio includes info from the Marvel Universe. Sebek has not appeared
in the DC Universe.
Clarifications: Sebek is not to be
confused with:
Last updated: 03/08/08